Maui: Hawaiian Superman, Super Farms

So who captured the sun and forced it to slow down to create enough daylight? According to the ancient Hawaiians (and other Polynesian peoples), the demigod Maui can take credit for that impressive feat — and many more. That answers the question posed by the March 15 Sunday Quiz, which focused on sunny aspects of his namesake island in Hawaii. (Congratulations to Kathy Peterson of Los Banos, Calif., for being the first to reply correctly; she’ll receive a small prize from Maui in the mail.)

One of Maui-the-island’s many shout-outs to the sun is the Run to the Sun, a 36-mile road race up to the summit of Haleakalā (“house of the sun”), which will have its 30th annual running in 2010. Just like the sightseers who hope to watch the sun rise at the summit, the runners start well before dawn at the base of the mountain. And during their ascent, they pass through as many ecological zones as they would running from Mexico to Canada — not all of them the sunniest by nature, but striking nonetheless.

While there can be thick clouds near the top, those heading up the mountain through Kula will pass strawberry patches, onion fields, herb gardens and other sites that rely on upcountry Maui’s mix of warm sun and cool mists. You can take a culinary detour at Ali’i Kula Lavender, which serves lavender scones and tea on its tours, or at organic O’o Farm, where tours begin with cider and pastries and are followed by lunch with greens that you may have helped harvest. Down in the normally very sunny town of Lahaina (its name means “cruel sun”), you’ll find more O’o Farm products on the table of Pacific’O and I’o restaurants, whose executive chef James McDonald co-founded the farm in 2000.

Fresh farm-to-table fare is an increasingly important part of the Maui dining experience, celebrated this past weekend at the second annual Maui County Agricultural Festival, sponsored by the Maui County Farm Bureau. Its motto: “Local sunshine, local soil, good food.”

The sudden downpour from a winter storm did not deter attendees from queuing up for samples from island chefs at this year’s festival, held at the Maui Tropical Plantation in Waikapu. When the sun is out, the 60-acre working plantation is another good place to taste the fruits of demigod Maui’s labors.

Hawaii Tourism Japan

The long and winding road to Haleakala inspires some to run.

Hawaii Tourism Japan

In Kula, Maui, roadside stands as well as major farms sell fresh produce and flowers.